THE STUDENT ASSESSMENT PROJECT

Under a grant from Education Research and Development Committee, researchers at Macquarie University, Sydney, Australia, developed a set of instructional materials aimed at the inservice education of teachers on the topic of student assessment. The Student Assessment Project (SAP) now comprises seven modules in slide‐tape format covering the topics of test design, item writing, analysis of norm‐referenced and criterion‐referenced tests, combining scores from different components, moderation of test results, and grading and reporting. The kit also contains appropriate computer software (for an Apple II microcomputer), manuals and supplementary materials. This article gives some details of the project and its development and describes the widespread use of the first 20 kits from which evaluation data are being sought. Although SAP originally focussed on inservice education of secondary teachers, the present applicability to higher education and the further potential for modification and use at this level is discussed.     

ASSESSMENT OF PROFESSIONAL POTENTIAL IN THE PHYSIOTHERAPY STUDENT

This report considers the problems of assessing Professional Potential and makes some suggestions for assisting students in the professional socialisation process     

IMPROVING THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN ASSESSMENT RESULTS AND STUDENT UNDERSTANDING

Studies have shown that physical science students' understanding of concepts, and relations between concepts, is often less than would be expected from the assessment results they achieve. Explanations for the difference include the widespread use in examinations of ‘problems’ which, given sufficient rehearsal, become little more than exercises. Many of these examinations containing exercises are also thought to encourage surface approaches to learning, leading to lower quality learning outcomes. In this study we compare students' performances in an alternative assessment method — creativity exercises — with their results in concept mapping and traditional examination exercises. Student performance in all three methods was found to correlate positively with a deep study strategy, while low correlations between the three methods suggest that they may test three different aspects of chemistry knowledge. If used together these methods may encourage a deeper approach to learning, contribute to a greater understanding of the subject and be more beneficial in helping students improve their learning and problem solving abilities.     

THE ROLE OF SELF‐ASSESSMENT IN STUDENT GRADING

While the educational benefits of student self‐assessment are being increasingly recognised and self‐assessment procedures introduced into post‐secondary courses of many different kinds, the use of self‐assessment for grading purposes is a more controversial matter. Is there a role for student self‐assessment in formal assessment proceedings? If there is to be a role, what should it be? This paper focuses on these questions and examines why a marking role for self‐assessment should be considered and what evidence is available on the reliability of student‐generated marks. The implications of these findings are considered and strategies are proposed to improve student markers reliability and to incorporate self‐assessment indirectly into the formal assessment process.     

USSR: THE ENGINEERING GRADUATE BY THE YEAR 2000

As a result of rapid technological development both now and in the future, technical higher education will have to change continually. What the engineer of the future will be like is a widely discussed issue. We give below a summary of the views expressed on this subject by Professor V.A. Venikov, Lenin Prize winner, from the Moscow Institute of Energy.     

ASSESSMENT OF ENTERING STUDENT WRITING SKILL IN THE COMMUNITY COLLEGE

This article describes an assessment of writing skills (writing sample, objective test, and self‐assessment) made by one community college. Information was gathered to design an entry‐level assessment procedure for placement in English composition and developmental writing courses. Comparing the three approaches, each of which measured different aspects of writing ability, showed that the best predictor of grade in an English composition course was the objective test. However, the statistical results of the study form only one component of an entry‐level assessment program. It may be that a writing sample is needed as part of entry‐level assessment because it points out the value of writing skill in attempting college‐credit courses.     

明代应天府乡试考官新探

应天府既是明初的首善之地,其乡试规模也是全国之冠,故应天乡试历来被统治者重视,其乡试主考官从建文元年开始就从翰林官中选任.主考与两类同考官之间关系不甚相同,一是与教官同考,以主考领导下的合作为主;二是与甲科有司同考,既有合作又有相互监督.应天乡试考官给乡试取士造成的影响,则是积极远大于消极的一面.     

A CASE FOR SELF‐ASSESSMENT BASED ON RECENT STUDIES OF STUDENT LEARNING

An account of an experiment in self‐assessed learning where the lecturer used his authority to give his students responsibility for their own assessment. Students were expected to set their own goals, week‐by‐week, and prepare a self‐assessment, which was open to questioning and discussion by other members of the group, but which involved only the individual student in the final decision.

The difficulties encountered are clearly stated, but the final judgment is that only such methods can achieve deep processing in Higher Education. It is also argued that conventional methods of evaluation are inappropriate for this style of learning.     

试论学校与学生的法律关系

学样与学生的法律法律是近几年学术界和司法实践关注的一个重要问题。笔者认为：学校与学生关系的实质是一种隶属型的教育管理法律关系，它既不同于严格意义上的行政法律关系，也不同于民事法律关系，它有其自身的特点。司法和学术界提出的监护关系，平等关系等观点是站不住脚的。     

THE EDEN ALTERNATIVE: IMPACT ON STUDENT ATTITUDES

ABSTRACT

Nursing homes as clinical sites for student learning have the potential to produce negative attitudes toward aging. The purpose of the study reported in this paper was to determine the impact of the Eden Alternative on the attitudes of students toward elders residing in nursing homes. Prior to beginning implementation of the Eden Alternative, 61 students completed the Health Professional Beliefs and Opinions about Elders. At 2 years after implementation of the Eden Alternative, 73 students completed the same survey. The second group reflected significantly more positive attitudes toward elders living in nursing homes.     

THE EFFECT OF SENIOR AUDITORS ON COLLEGE CLASSES: AN ASSESSMENT BY FACULTY MEMBERS

College and university programs that permit older persons to audit regularly scheduled classes free of charge through tuition waiver programs are open to those aged 60 and over or 65 and over in at least 44 states. A study of such a program at a medium‐sized state university included a survey of 135 faculty members teaching classes audited by elder students. Seventy‐four percent of faculty members surveyed returned a one‐page survey questionnaire that asked them to describe the behavior of older auditors and compare them to younger students. Findings indicate that senior auditors are conscientious, most attending classes regularly and some completing written assignments and taking tests. Faculty members indicated that older auditors make a positive difference in class, learn as quickly as younger students, and are more motivated than younger students. Ninety percent of faculty respondents felt that the free audit program offers older students something of value. No significant differences in responses were found when controlling for the teaching experience of faculty members, for their age, or for the number of older students who had audited their classes.     

大学生自我概念与心理健康调查研究

文章采用田纳西自我概念量表和SCL-90量表对大学生进行调查,对不同年级和性别的学生进行分析,发现自我概念与心理健康之间存在着密切的联系。并根据调查结果,针对当前大学生自我概念和心理健康状况提出几条建议与应对策略。以帮助大学生完善自我概念,促进心理健康。     

MULTILEVEL ANALYSIS OF THE EFFECTS OF STUDENT AND INSTRUCTOR/COURSE CHARACTERISTICS ON STUDENT RATINGS

Multilevel SEM was used to examine the extent to which student, instructor, and course characteristics affect student ratings. Data were gathered from 1867 students enrolled in 117 courses at a large teacher training college in Israel. Four alternative two-level models that differ in only the nature of the relationship among interest in the course subject, expected grade, and student ratings were tested. Two of the models were judged as less appropriate, one because it failed to support the spurious relationship assumed between expected grade and student ratings, and the other on grounds of poor model-data fit. The other two models were equally good both in terms of the model-data fit and the amount of variance in student ratings that is accounted for by each of them. Both models supported the mediation effect of expected grade in the relationship between interest in the course subject and student ratings.     

论口语语法错误纠正的时机选择

纠错时机通常分为立即纠正，滞后纠正和延迟纠正。一方面，不同的纠错时机会产生不同程度的负面情感影响和认知效果，进而对不同情感和认知特征的学生产生不同程度的影响。因此，教师在把握纠错时机的时候，应从学生出发，充分考虑学生的情感和认知差异，找出平衡点，使得纠错行为既能收到最佳的认知效果，又能把负面情感影响降低到最小程度。     

STATISTICS ON STUDENT POPULATION IN THE GERMAN DEMOCRATIC REPUBLIC

Basic statistical data on higher education up io 1976 in the German Democratic Republic was published by the GDR's Ministry for Higher and Specialised Education at the end of 1977. The information presented below is based on some of these data concerning student population.